Glass take-out mechanism



Nov. 21, 1933. I, H. FREESE GLASS TAKE-OUT MECHANISM 5 Sheets- Shee t 1Original Filed Nov. 29, 1927 j INVENTOR. [ff j7'd6 BY a, A TTORNEYS.

Nov. 21, 1933. H. FREESE GLASS TAKE OUT MECHANI SM Original Filed Nov.29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lfii'reewe Nov. 21, 1933. H. FREESE GLASSTAKE-OUT MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3VIII/Illa IIIHIHI o 1 l c 7 W .l

INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Nov. 21, 1933. H. FREESE GLASS TAKE-OUT MECHANISM Original Filed NOV.29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l'Snvcntor f. Freese attorney Nov. 21, 1933.FREESE 1,935,739

GLAS S TAKE-OUT MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 29, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Zhmentor (Ittorncga Patented Nov. -21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcnHazel-Atlas Glass 00., Wheeling W. Va., a corporation of West VirginiaOriginal application November 29, 1927, Serial 236,524. Divided and thisapplication April 28, 1930. Serial No. 448,073

23 Claims.

The invention relates generally to mechanisms for transferring glasswarefrom a forming machine to a conveyer, such as a continuously movingconveyer of a fire-finisher. The numerous novel features of thisinvention will appear from the detailed description, and will be definedby the appended claims.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 236,524,filed November 29, 1927.

Referring to the drawings:

figure 1 is a front'elevational view of the takeout device, and theoperating mechanism therefor associated with a forming machine; the

forming machine being shown merely in outline.

1s figure 2 is a detail plan view of the piping for the valves of thetake-out mechanism.

3 is a side elevational view of the mechanism w w witha forming machine,for operating the valves of the take-out device; the

forming machine being shown in outline.

figure 4 is a plan view of the mechanism associated with a formingmachine, for operating the valva of the take-out device; the formingmachine being shown in outline.

figure 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the receiver andconveyer; the take-out device beim shown in elevation, and parts beingbroken away to more clearly show certain connecticns with the formingmachine.

figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the takeout device; the airconnections and valves leading thereto, being shown in elevation.

figure I is a vertical sectional view of the valves controlling theoperation of the take-out figure 8 is a detail view of the drivingconnection between the forming machine and the takeout device, andincluding a sectional view of the clutch in operative position.

Figure 9 is a detail view of the clutch in inoperative position.

figure 10 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Figure8, and showing a plan of the train of gearing for rotating the take-outdevice.

Figure 11 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on line 11-11 ofFigure 8.

figure 12 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on line 1212 ofFigure 9; and

figure 13 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on line 13-13 ofFigure 9.

Numeral 1 indicates generally a forming machine which is shown merelydiagrammatically, as the invention is obviously adaptable to any type offorming machine, such as a pressing machine, a blowing machine, or apressing and blowing machine; and the forming machine may beintermittently rotated, continuously rotated, or of the stationary type.Solely for the puropses of illustration, I have indicateddiagrammatically a simple pressing machine including an intermittentlyrotated table 2, carrying the desired number of pressing molds 3. Inthis intermittently rotating pressing machine, which-I have chosen forpurposes. of illustration, and with which this invention is at presentemployed, the table is rotated step by step by the usual and well knownmeans, to successively move the molds from station to station, at whichstations the necessary operations are performed to fabricate the ware.When each mold comes to the takeout station, its elevator 4 is lifted inthe usual manner, to move the formed article upwardly into positionwhere the article may be gripped for removal. The particular means shownherein for gripping the ware and transferring it to cups on acontinuously moving endless conveyer, wilLnow be described in detail.

Numeral 5 indicates a fixed support or column, which rotatably supportsthe frame carrying the cylinders which operate the grippers; the framebeing indicated generally by numeral 6, and the gripper operatingcylinders carried thereby being indicated'by numerals and 8. The twocylinders,'the air connections therewith, and the mechanism operatedthereby, are identical; and consequently it will be sumcient to describeone of these units. By reference particularly to Fig. 6, it will be seenthat piston 9 operates the downwardly extending piston rod 10, which ispreferably pivotally connected at its lower end, as

7 indicated by numeral 11, to a rod 12. This pivotal connection is forthe purpose of facilitating the alignment of various parts and alsopermits rod 12 and parts associated therewith to be removed, as a unit,for repair without dismantling the entire device. This rod 12 passes ondown through a suitable passage provided in the upper end of a frame 13which carries the grippers. The rod 12 has a sliding lost motionconnection with the frame 13 by means of lock nuts 14 and 15 threaded onthe rod above and below the frame. It will be understood, of course,that the desired extent of lost motion is obtained by the adjustment ofone or the other, or both, of these lock nuts; thereby adjusting theextent of opening and closing movement of the grippers. The rod 12extends on downwardly and preferably is provided with an enlargedportion 16 slidably mounted in a sleeve 1'! on the frame, 110

whereby the rod is guided in its slight reciprocations relative to theframe; and below this enlarged portion 16, the rod carries a rack 18which extends between and is always in mesh with, two gear wheels 19;the gear wheels being suitably mounted in the lower portion of the frame13. Slidably mounted on the lower edge of the frame are two shoes 20,and each of these shoes is provided with a rack 21 meshing with one ofthe gears 19. Each shoe 20 is provided with a downwardly extending shank22, to which is attached one of the grippers 23. In the preferredconstruction, illustrated herein, the grippers are pivotally attached tothe shanks; and also they are preferably pivotally mounted in suchmanner that they can be swung upwardly from the normal' horizontalposition, but cannot swing downwardly below the horizontal position.This is illustrated at the left hand side of Figure 6, which shows theshank 22 provided with a lug 24, which engages the gripper when itreaches a horizontal position and maintains it in that position againstfurther downward swinging movement, but which permits the grippers toswing freely upward. It will be understood that a gripper unit is overthe mold at take-out position when the article is lifted in the mold bythe usual elevator; and it is therefore apparent that by means of thissimple construction, if an article being elevated should strike one orboth of the grippers they will simply be momentarily lifted upwardly bythe article, without in any way interfering with the proper functioningof the grippers.

As stated hereinbefore, the lock nuts 14, 15, permit a slightreciprocable movement of the rod 12 with respect to the frame 13; and itwill be apparent that when the rod 12 first starts to move upwardly,while of course the frame remains stationary, the'double racks 18 willcause the rotation of the gears 19, which by engagement with the racks21. will cause the shoes 20 to approach each other, whereby the grippers23 will gently but firmly grasp the article to be transferred. Just asthe grippers are moved to operative position to grasp the article, thenut 15 will strike the frame 13, so that in the further upward movementof the rod 12, the frame and grippers will be carried along bodily withit, whereby the article is elevated to a position where it is entirelyfree of the mold.

While the transfer unit over the mold, at the take-out station, is beingelevated, the opposite transfer unit is being lowered. to deposit atransferred article into a cup of an endless conveyer which iscontinuously moving, and which will carry the article onward toward aleer, while it is being subjected to the various operations essential tothe formation of the finished article. This downward movement of onetransfer unit by the upward movement of the opposite transfer unit, iseffected by means of a balanced gear arrangement, which will now bedescribed.

Each of the gripper frames carries on its side adjacent the support 5, ashoe 25 which is slidably fitted on a block 26 mounted on the support 5.'Rotatably mounted on this block are two gears 27, and each shoe isprovided with two racks 28, to mesh with these gears. Thus when one unitmoves upwardly, its shoe will move therewith, and the racks carried bythe shoe will enstill remaining in closed position. The further downwardmovement of the rod 12, permitted by the lock nuts 14 and 15, opens thegrippers, and frees the transferred article. The manner in which thisslight further downward movement is accomplished, will appearhereinafter. It will be apparent that in place of the particular balancegear arrangement described above, I may employ various other means foreffecting the lowering of one transfer unit by the elevation of theopposite transfer unit.

Before proceeding further with the description it may be mentioned thatthe frame 6 which carries the gripper operating cylinders, has adownwardly extending sleeve 30, and the block 26 which carries thebalance gear unit, has an upwardly extending sleeve 31; the ends of thetwo sleeves being spaced from each other, but formed into a unitarystructure by bolts 32, as clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6. Threadedlymounted on the support 5, between these spaced sleeves and 31, is a nut33; the nut being held against rotation by means of a set screw 34 and asoft copper plug 34' between the end of the set screw and the threads onthe support 5; and there preferably being provided a ball bearing race35 between the upper face of the nut and the lower face of the sleeve30. By this construction the cylinder frame, the grippers and thebalance gear construction will all rotate freely about the support 5 asa single unit, but by the mere rotation of the nut 33 the whole unit maybe raised or lowered to the desired extent, to adapt the device to wareof different height.

The means for operating the cylinders to open and close and to raise andlower the grippers, will now be described; and this will be followed bya description of the means for rotating the grippers from the take-outposition to the point of delivery.

In the following descriptionof the means for operating the cylinders, itis to be understood that one of the objects sought is to gently closethe grippers about the article, and it is for this reason that the airfirst introduced is at reduced pressure, to close the grippers, and isfollowed by the introduction of air at full pressure to raise and lowerthe grippers after they have been closed, as will now be explained.Numeral 36 indicates the main air supply line which leads from anyconvenient source of compressed air or other motive fluid, and from thismain line lead two branch lines 37 and 38, to a valve casing 39, inwhich casing two valves and 41, are arranged. Reference is to be hadparticularly to Figures 1 to '1, for a disclosure of the piping, thevarious valves, the means for operating the valves, thegripper-operating cylinders, and the various passages and valvesassociated with these cylinders. The valves 40 and 41 are normallymaintained seated by reason of the air pressure acting on the uppersurface thereof; and are lifted at the desired times and in the desiredrelation by cams driven by the forming machine. The air valve cams forthe take-out device are indicated by numerals 42 and 43, and in thepresent instance they are mounted on and rotate with the jack shaft 44of the forming machine or press. The cam 42 has adjustably mountedthereon by any desired means, a relatively short lobe 45, and associatedwith this cam is a roller 46 carried by one arm of a bell-crank lever47, pivotally mounted at 48. The other arm of the bell-crank lever 4'!is pivotally connected to a. horizontally extending rod 49, the oppositeend of which rod ispivotallyconneetedtooneasmofanotherbell crank leverwhichkpivotallymolmted at 51; andthe otherarmofthisbellcrankleverfioispivotally connected to the lower end of a verticalLv disposed connectingrod 53. At its upper end this connecting rod is pivotally connected toonearm ofabellcranklever53. Arranged adjacent the valve 40 is apivotally mounted lever 54 which has a free end 55 projecting beneaththe valve stem of valve 40; and the opposite end ofthisleverisconnectedbymeans ofarod 56, with theotherarmofhellcranklever53.

The cam 43 has adjustably mounted thereon by any desired means, arelatively long lobe 57, and associated with this cam is a roller 58carried by one arm of a bell crank lever 59, pivotally mounted at48.Theotherarmofthebellcrank lever 59 is pivotally connected toahorisontally extending rod 60, the opposite end of which rod ispivotally connected to one arm of another bell crank lever 61 which ispivotally mounted at 51; and the other arm of this bell crank lever 61is pivotally connected to the lower end of a vertically disposedconnecting rod 62. At its upper end this connecting rod is connected toone arm of a bell crank lever 63. Arranged adjacent the valve 41 is apivotally mounted lever 64 which has a free end 65 projecting beneaththe valve stem of valve 41; and the opposite end of this lever isconnected by 'means of a rod 66. with the other end of the bell cranklever 63.

The jack shaft 44, which carries the cams 42 and 43, is continuouslyrotating, and during each rotation the lobes 45 and 57 will cause thevalves 40 and 41 to be tripped at the desired time and in the desiredrelation; any desired variation in the timing being eifected by theadjustment of the lobes 45 and 57.

leading from valve 40 is a pipe 67 which leads to one end of a shuttlevalve casing 68, and leading from the valve 41 is a pipe 69 which leadsto the opposite end of the shuttle valve casing; and a pipe 70 which isconnected with either the pipe 67 or the pipe 69, by means of theshuttle valve, leads from the shuttle valve casing and is connected tothe upper end of the support 5, which is centrally bored to provide thepassage '71. By reference to Figure 'I, it will be seen that the shuttlevalve casing is provided with a seat 72 associated with the pipe 67, andwith a seat '13 associated with the pipe 69. The valve stem '74 carriesthe valves 75 and '16 at its opposite ends, which are adapted tocooperate alternately with the valve seats '72 and 18 respectively. Thepipe 67, adjacent the shuttle valve casing, is provided with anadjustable needle valve 77, by means of which the volume may becontrolled to give the correct pressure for imparting the desiredinitial slow upward movement to the piston, as will be describedhereinafter.

As stated above, a pipe '10 leads from the shuttle valve to the passage'11 in the support 5. This passage extends centrally down the support toa point substantially in the plane of the lower ends of the cylinders,and there turns laterally into a short passage 78, which leads through apipe connection 79 to the lower end of the cylinder 7, Figure 6.Extending downwardly from the latera1 passage 78, at the periphery ofthe support, is a passage 80, which is, in effect, nothing more than anextension of the central passage 71, and is obviously provided for thepurpou of taking care of any vertical adjustment of the frame 6 carryingthe cylinder; the vertical adjustment of which is accomplished by thenut 33, as described hereinbefore.

Leading from the pipes 79, are exhaust pipes 81, which are connected toports on theopposite side of sleeve 30. The support 5 is provided withan elongated groove 82, and the sleeve is provided with two exhaustports 83, adapted to be alternately brought into register with thegroove by the rotation of the sleeve and the cylinder frame with whichit is connected. It will be understood, of course, that the groove 82 iselongated to take care of the vertical adjustment of the cylinders. Bymeans of the above described construction, the lower end of cylinder 8,Figure 6, is open to exhaust to the atmosphere, through pipes 79 and 81,groove 82 and port 83; while cylinder 7 is not open to exhaust. When theposition of the cylinders is reversed, by rotating them through 180, thecylinder 7 will be open to exhaust through pipes 79 and 81, groove 82,and its own exhaust port 83 which is then in communication with thegroove.

Each of the cylinders 7 and 8, is also provided with an exhaust pipe 84leading from the upper end of the cylinders, and thesupport 5 has anelongated groove 85 with which these pipes 84 alternately communicate;and the upwardly extending sleeve 86 of the cylinder frame is providedwith oppositely disposed exhaust ports 87. Thus when the cylinders arein the position'illustrated in Figure 6, the upper end of cylinder 7 isexhausting through pipe 84, groove 85 and its port 87, while exhaustfrom the upper end of cylinder 8 is shut off; and when the cylinders arerotated through 180, the upper end of cylinder 8 will exhaust throughpipe 84, groove 85, and its port 87, while exhaust from the upper end ofcylinder 7 is shut off. The groove 85 is elongated to take care of thevertical adjustment of the cylinders. Each of the exhaust pipes 84 ispreferably provided with an adjustable needle valve 88, to control theexhaust, thereby regulating the velocity of the up stroke of thepistons, and also providing a cushion therefor.

A by-pass 89 leads from a point intermediate the ends of cylinder 7 to apoint intermediate the ends of cylinder 8, and this by-passis preferablyprovided with a needle valve 90 to regulate the volume of fluid passingtherethrough, thereby regulating the pressure that is applied above thepiston to move it to its lowermost position to separate the grippers. Itis to be particularly noted that no means is provided for directlysupplying ,fluid pressure to the upper end of either cylinder; theentire operation being effected by supplying pressure to the lower endof a cylinder while it is at the take-out position, and by-passing itover to the other cylinder to give the final downward movement to thepiston of the latter cylinder. The reason for the structure describedabove willbecome more apparent in the description of 'the operation ofthe cylinders and grippers; but before describing such operation, Ishall describe the particular means illustrated herein, for effectingthe rotation of the cylinders and pp lf In the description of the meansfor rotating the take-out mechanism, reference should be had to Figures1 and 5 to 10. Numeral 91 indicates a post or standard, and fixedthereto, adjacent the upper end thereof, is a bracket 92; and flxed tothe lower portion of the standard, but above the mold table is anotherbracket 93. A driving shaft is indicated by numeral 94, and the bracket92 provides an upper bearing for this shaft, and the lower end isassociated with a clutch which is carried by the bracket 93. Thespecific clutch mechanism will be described hereinafter; but it may bementioned here that the 5 lower clutch member carries a pinion 95 whichis in engagement with a circular rack or internal gear 96 fixed to themold table. Consequently, the shaft 94 is rotated whenever the moldtable is rotated. Fixed to the upper end of the shaft 94 is a pinion 97meshing with an idler gear 98. And the idler meshes with a large gear99, which in turn drives the gear 100' which is rotatably mounted on thesupport 5 and which has any suitable driving connection with theupwardly extending sleeve 86 of the cylinder frame unit 6. It will benoted that the gear 100 is elongated to take care of any verticaladjustment of the takeout mechanism.

From the above description it will be apparent that whenever the moldtable comes to a stop the rotary movement of the transfer units willcease; and that when the mold table rotates the transfer units willrotate; it being understood, of course, that the gearing ratio, in thepresent machine, is such that the movement of the mold table for adistance of one step, that is to carry a mold from one station toanother, will cause the take-out mechanism to rotate 180, to carry oneof the units from the take-out position to unit from the point ofdelivery, to the takeout position. In the present instance I have shownthe device as provided with only two transfer units, butit will beapparent that three, four, or more units may be employed; it being onlynecessary to change the gearing ratio. While I have described thespecific train of gearingfor rotating the transfer units, it is obviousthat the invention contemplates the use of any desired means forintermittently or continuously revolving the units.

In order that the device may be thrown into and out of operation quicklyand easily, I have provided the shaft 94 with a clutch, which will nowbe described. The upper and lower clutch members are indicated by thenumerals 101 and 102 respectively; and the face of the upper clutchmember is provided with 9. lug 103, while the face of the lower clutchmember is provided with a groove 104; the groove and lug being adaptedto interlock when the clutch is thrown in. It will be noted that theupper clutch member is slidably mounted on the lower end of the shaft94, and that this portion of the shaft is squared, as indicated bynumeral 105, to fit a squared opening in the upper clutch member. Inother words, the upper clutch member is slidable vertically on the shaft94 but must rotate therewith. A collar 106 is pinned or otherwisesecured to the shaft 94, and a spring 107 is compressed between thelower face of the collar and the upper face of the upper clutch member101, whereby the upper clutch member is normally pressed downward intoengagement with the lower clutch member 102.

Numeral 108 indicates a bushing which rotatably supports the lowerclutch member 102, and this clutch member has a downwardly extendingsleeve 109, which extends through the bushing and has its lower endattached to the gear 95. As clearly shown in the drawings, the upperclutch member is rotatably and slidably mounted in the sleeve of thelower clutch member, and the lower squared end 105 of the shaft 94 isslidably but non-rotatably mounted in the upper clutch the point ofdelivery, and to bring the other member. Thus it is apparentthat whenthe two clutch members are in immanent the gear will rotate theshaft94,andthroughtbeiralnd gearing described, the transfer units willbe rotated. But when the upper clutch member is elevated, against thepressure of spring 107, the lug 103 of the upper clutchmember will bemoved out of engagement with the groove 104 of the lower clutch member,so that the gear 95, sleeve 109 and lower clutch member 102 will merelyrotate freely, without any effect on the shaft 94. Thus the transferunits are not only rendered inoperative, but also they are entirelydisconnected from the mechanian for rotating them, and accordingly thewhole transfer rmit is freely mounted on the support 5, and may berotated byhandtoany desiredanglewithrespecttothe molds, therebyrendering the molds more aeeessible, and permitting the operation of theforming machine without interference from the takeout mechanism. This,of comse, is desirable when warming up the molds, adjusting the molds,etc. When the upper clutch-member is released, the spring 107 will forcethe lug 102 into the groove 104, when the gear 95 has rotated the lowerclutch member through the necessary angle to align the lug and groove.In order that the clutch members will always become engaged in the samerelationship, I have tapered the groove and lug, as clearly shown inFigures 11 and 12. It '5 thus apparent that it is possible for theclutch members to resume their operative relation in one relativeposition only, and consequently, no matter at what angle the transferunits may be when they are inoperative, .they will always resume 1 ooperation in proper relation to the forming machine.

Forthepm'poseofraisingandloweringthe upper clutch member, I ham providedthe rod 110, the upper end of which passes through the 115 lower end ofthe sleeve 109 of the lower clutch member and abuts against the bottomof the sleeve of the upper clutch member. The lower end oftherod110ispivotallyattachedtome nrmofabellcrankleverllLtheotherarmotmthebell crank leverbeingeonneetedbyalink 112 to the lower end of ahandlever 113, whiehis pivotally mounted at 114 on a bracket 115 carried bythe main frame. A foot-operated trigger 116 is pivotally mormted on thelever 113, and is 1 5 notched at its inner em], as indicated by numeral11'l,toengageanedgeof theframewhenthe hand lever 113,is moved to theleft (Fig. 5); a coil spring 118 being provided to normally'pull thetrigger down into position to engage the edge 13 of the frame.Itwillbeunderstoodfrom thefore going description, that when the handlever 113 is moved to the left (Fig. 5) the rod 110 will be elevated tothrow out the clutch, in the manner described; and the notch 11'! willengage an edge 5 oftheframeandmaintainthe nrtsinthisposition. The clutchhaving been thrown out, the transfer units are no longer connected withthe forming machine, and are freely mormied on the support 5, sothattheymaybeswrmgtoanyua angular position, where they will be out ofthe way. To throw the clutch in, it is only necessary to depress thefree end of the foot trigger 116 to release the notch 11'! from the edgeof the frame, whereupon the spring 107 will move the upper clutch memberdownwardly into engagement with the lower clutch member; it beingremembered that by .reason of the tapered groove 104 it is possible forthe clutch members to engage in only one position. The transfer unitswill thus be 113 again connected with the forming nmchine, and willrotate in timed relation-therewith, in the manner hereinbeforedescribed. Itwill be understood, of course, that the downward movementof the upper clutch member forces the rod 110 downwardly, and therebythrows the hand lever 113 to the 18111 that is, to the position in which'it is shown in Figure 5.

A complete cycle of operation of the take-out mechanism will now bedescribed. Reference is tobehadparticularlytoFigureB,andforthe purposeof this description it will be assumed that the position of the pistonsis reversed; that is, the piston of cylinder '1 will be at'its lowermostposition, so tint this transfer unit will be down and the grippers open,while the piston of cylinder 8 will be at its uppermost position, sothat its transfer unit will be elevated, with the grippers closed.

The transfer unit at the right of Figure 6 has been rotated to aposition where it is over a mold at the delivery station. The elevatorwill now operate in the usual manner to elevate the tumbler or otherarticle in the mold, thereby moving it to a position between thegrippers, which, of course, are open. At this stage, the lobe 45 willtrip the valve 40 and permit fluid pressure to pass through the shuttlevalve to the passage 71. The volume of this fluid is regulated by thevalve 77, the purpose of which is to considerably reduce the pressure ofthe fluid. This fluid at reduced pressure will pass through the passage71 and pipe 79 to the lower end of cylinder 7. The pressure of the fluidis suflicient to lift the piston to close the grippers, but is notsuflicient to lift the transfer unit. Consequently, when this lowpressure fluid enters the lower end of cylinder 7 the pistonwill begiven a slight and gentle upward movement, thereby lifting the rod 12,so that the rack 18 will rotate the gears 19 which by engagement withthe racks 21 will move the grippers; 23 inward to firmly but gently gripthe tumbler or other article to be transferred. At this point the nut 15strikes the undeside of the frame 13 and thereby prevents further inwardmovement of the grippers; and further upward movement of the rod 12 willbodily lift the transferunit. As stated hereinbefore the pressure ofthe; fluid originally admitted to the lower end of cylinder 7 is notsuflicient to bodily lift the transfer unit; and accordingly at thisstage the lobe 5'7 will open the valve 41, the valve 40 having beenclosed in the meantime, and fluid at full pressure will thus passthrough the shuttle valve to passage 71, and thence through pipe 79 tothe lower end of cylinder 7. The piston of cylinder 7 is thus movedrapidly to the upper limit of its stroke thereby bodily lifting thetransfer unit and carrying the gripped article to a position clear ofthe mold. During this upward movement of the piston the fluid pressurein the upper end of the cylinder 7 exhausted through pipe 84, passageand port 87; the exhaust being regulated by the valve 88, which controlsthe speed of the upward movement of the piston, and also gives acushioning effect to the piston. The transfer unit is now in theposition shown at the right of Figure 6.

The upward movement of the transfer unit at the right of Figure 6,caused the downward movement of the transfer unit on the left, by reasonof shoes 25, racks 28 and gears 27; the downward movement hem limited bythe lug 29. But this downward movement of the transfer unit does notopen the grippers to release the article. To accomplish this function,there must be a slight downward movement of the piston in cylinder 8,tomove the rod 12 downward relative to the transfer unit; which relativedownward movement is permitted by reason of the lost motionconnection'consisting of the nuts 14 and 15 arranged respectively aboveand below the frame 13. To accomplish this slight downward movement ofthe piston to release the article carried by the transfer unit on theleft of Figure 6, I provide a pipe 89 which communicates with thecylinders 7 and 8 at a' point about midway of this length; the innerends of the pipe 89 being in communication through a suitable e, inwhichpassage there is a needle valve 90, to control the volume of thefluid. Thus when the piston of cylinder 7 approaches the upper end ofits stroke, it will free the port leading to pipe 89, and the fluidbeneath this piston will pass through pipe 89 and enter cylinder 8 abovethe piston; the pressure on the piston being controlled by the valve 90.This fluid pressure will move the piston downward, thereby moving therod 12 downward until the nut 14 abuts against the upper face of theframe member 13. This downward movement of the rod 12 will, by reason ofrack 18, gears 19, and racks 21, cause the grippers to be moved apart torelease the transferred article. During the down stroke of the piston incylinder 8, the fluid pressure beneath the piston exhausted throughpipes 79, 81, passage 82 and port 83. All of the parts are now in theposition shown in Figure 6. In the right hand transfer unit the grippershave been closed to grip the article, and the unit has been liftedbodily to lift the article clear of the mold; while in the left handtransfer unit, the unit has been lowered bodily, and the grippers havebeen separated to release the article. The take-out mechanism is nowready to be rotated. at this stage the mold table will resume itsstep-by-step rotation, to carry the empty mold away, and to bringanother mold to the delivery station to discharge the formed articletherein. This ro- 1-20 tation of-the mold table will, through the trainof gearing already described, cause the transfer frame to rotate through180, thereby reversing the position of the cylinders and transfer units.Thus a complete cycle of operation has been performed, and the operationis ready to be started over again by tripping valve 40 to admit lowpressure air to the lower end of cylinder 8 (which is now above themold) to close the grippers; the entire operation being repeated in themanner above described. It is to be noted that while I prefer to employlow pressure fluid to operate the grippers, thereby giving a more gentleclosing movement; yet this is not essential to the successful operationof the take-out mechanism, and the means for accomplishing thisdesirable function may be omitted without in any manner departing fromthe invention disclosed herein.

The timing of the valves may be adjusted by adjusting the lobes 45 and57, or by any other desired means; the volume of air for closing thegrippers may be regulated by the valve 77; the volume of air for openingthe grippers may be regulated by the valve 90; the entire mechanism maybe raised or lowered, for ware of different height, by the rotation ofthe nut 33; the extent of opening and closing of the grippers may beregulated by the nuts 14 and 15, for ware of different breadth; and toavoid any possible jamming between the grippers and the ware, I pivot- 5allymounttbegripperssothattheymayfreely swing upwardly, but cannot swingdownwardly below a substantially horizontal position.

While I have described this take-out mechasnisminitsparticularrelationtoaformingmachine,yetitistobeunderstoodthatthemechanism is of generalapplication and may be employed wherever it is desirable to transferware from one to another position. when the takeout 111 is used fordelivering ware to a fire-finisher, it may deliver the ware directly tothe conveyer of the flre-flnisher, or a receiver mechanism may beinterpomd between the conveyer and the delivery point of the take-outmechanism. The receiver is neither described nor claimed herein, as itconstitutes the subject-matter of a separate application, Ser. No.800,539, flled March 22, 1932,..which application is a division of thepresent application and of an application Ser. No.236,524, fliedNovember 29, 1927.

Obviously many changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention; and all such changes and modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A take-out mechanism for glassware, including a plurality of gr ppunits revolvable about a vertical axis, a cylinder associated with eachunit, and means for closing one set of grippers and opening another setof grippers by the admission of fluid presure directly to one cylinderly. 7

2. A take-out m for glassware, including a plurality of gripping units,fluid pressure operated means for lifting one unit, a mechanicalconnection between the units whereby another unit is simul lowered, andfluid pressure operated means for opening the grippers of the unit inlowered position.

3. A take-out mechanism for glasswareincludingaverticallymovableframe,apairofgrlppers slidably mounted onsaid frame, a rack carried byeachgrlppentwogearseachofsaidgeanmeshingwithoneofsaidrackaandavertically movablerack bothofsaidgears.

4. A take-out for glassware including a frame, grippers slidably mountedon said frame for movement in substantially a horizontal plane, a rodasociated with saidframe, means carriedbysaidrodforopeningandclomgthegrippers, nuts adiustably mounted on said rodaboveandbelowsaidframetoprovidealost motion connection therewith, andmeans forliftingsaidrodtoclosethegrippersandfurtherliftingsaidrodtobodilylifttheframeandassociated5. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a frame, shoes slidablymounted on said frame, gripperscarriedbysaidshomarackprovided on each ofsaid shoes, gears meshing with said racks, a vertically extending rodassociated with said frame, a rack carried by said rod and meshing withsaid gears, nuts adjustably mounted on said rod above and below theframe to provide a lost motion and a cylinder and piston for 0 said rod.

6. A take-out for glassware including a plurality of cylindersrevolvable in a horizontalplaneaboutacommon axis, a gripperunit operatedby each of said cylinders, means for supplyinglowfluidtoonecylindertoclose the grippers of one unit, and means forsupplyinghighfluidtoonecylinderfor 15 bodilyelovaflngmcofsaidunits.

1,oss,7ao

I. A take-out mechanism' for g including a plurality ofcylinders-revolvable in a horizontal plane about a common axis, agripper unit operated by each of said cylinders, means for supplying lowpressure fluid to one cylinder to close. the grippers of one unit, meansfor .supplying high pressure fluid to one cylinder for bodily elevatingone of said units, and a mechanical connection between two of saidunits, whereby when one unit is bodily raised the other unit is bodilylowered.

8. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a plurality of cylindersrevolvable in a horizontal plane about a common axis, a gripper unitoperated by each cylinder, means for bringing each cylinder successivelyinto position over a mold, and interconnecting parts between thecylinders and gripper units causing fluid pressure admitted directly toonly one end of one cylinder to close the grippers of one unit, elevatethe same unit and lower another unit, and open the grippers of thelatter unit.

9. A take-out mechanism for glassware includ-- ing a plurality ofcylinders revolvable in a horizontal plane about a common axis, agripper unit operated by each cylinder, and a by-pass for fluid frombelow the piston in one cylinder to a point above the piston in anothercylinder, for the purpose described.

10. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a plurality ofcylinders revolvable in a horizontal plane about a common axis, agripper unit operated by each cylinder, means for admittim fluidpressure to the end of one cylinder to bodily elevate a gripper unit,and means for bythe fluid to another cylinder for opening the grippersof a unit.

11. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a plurality ofcylinders revolvable in a horizontal plane about a common axis, a ripp runit operated by each cylinder, means for admitting fluid pressure tothe end of one-cylinder to bodily elevate one of the gripper units,means for by-passing the fluid to another cylinder for opening thegrippers of one of the units, and means for regulating the volume of theby-pass fluid.

12. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a vertical post, aframe rotatably mounted on the post, a pair of cylinders carried by theframe on opposite sides of the post, a gripper unit associated with eachcylinder, said post provided with a passage for fluid pressure, and saidpost provided witha port whereby fluid pressure in said passage isadmitted to one end of each cylinder as each-cylinder comes successivelyto take-out position.

13. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a vertical post, aframe rotatably mounted on the post, a plurality of cylinders carried bythe frame, a gripper unit associated with each cylinder, said postprovided with a passage for fluid pressure, the lower end of eachcylinder adapted to communicate with said passage at the take-outposition, said post also'having an exhaust passage, and the upper end ofeach cylinder adapted to communicate with the exhaust passage at thetake-out position.

14. A take-out mechanism for glassware including a vertical post, aframe rotatably mounted on the post, a plurality of cylinders carried bythe frame, a gripper unit associated with each cylinder, said postprovided with a passage for fluid pressure, the lower end of eachcylinder adapted to communicate with said e at the fake-out position,said post also having an exhaust the upper end one of thefirst-mentioned valves to the shuttle operating cylinders. forglasswareinpermit free rotation of the gripper units by hand.

point of take-out, means for unit and opening the grippers at the pointof delivery, and means to revolve the units to bring the unit in loweredposition and with grippers open from the point of delivery to the pointof take-out.

IRA H. FREESE.

